French cinema’s leading man accused of rape
French police have opened a preliminary inquiry into allegations by a 22-year-old actress that she was raped by the actor Gerard Depardieu.
The woman told police on Monday that Depardieu, 69, had ‘‘raped and committed sexual attacks’’ against her on August 7 and August 13 at his Paris home, police said.
Herve Temime, the lawyer for France’s most celebrated film actor, said that Depardieu ‘‘absolutely denies any attack, any rape or any criminal act’’. He added: ‘‘I regret the public nature of this procedure which is causing serious damage to Gerard Depardieu. I am convinced that his innocence will be recognised. This accusation is the opposite of who he is and what he respects.’’
The woman reported the alleged incidents to police in Provence who handed the case to Paris, where the actor has one of his homes. The alleged victim is the daughter of a friend of Depardieu, according to Le Parisien. She was working with Depardieu on an acting project and also attends classes he gives at a Paris drama school, French media reported.
The alleged incident is said to have taken place as the pair were rehearsing parts in a townhouse in the opulent 6th arrondissement, on the Left Bank, Le Parisien said. Temime urged the media not to jump to conclusions.
A French judicial source said: ‘‘I can confirm that a complaint was registered on August 27 in the jurisdiction of the Aix-enProvence prosecutor. The case was passed on to the Paris prosecutor.’’
The preliminary investigation could end with the case being dropped as unfounded, or it could be passed to prosecutors to open criminal proceedings.
Depardieu, French cinema’s leading man and best-known wild boy since the 1970s, has made a name in recent decades for provocative behaviour. The star of Cyrano de Bergerac and Jean de Florette has denounced France for its high taxes and accepted Russian nationality from his ‘‘great friend’’ President Vladimir Putin.
In 2015 he claimed to have taken up residence in Russia. Putin ‘‘likes me for my bad boy side’’, he said at the time. Putin treated him to a dinner to present him with his new citizenship and Depardieu was subsequently full of praise in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda. He continues to work in France, however, and run his vineyards in the Loire valley.
In 2011, the actor caused a stir by urinating in a bottle while on board a Cityjet flight as it left Paris for Dublin. In 2012, he was accused of assault for punching a motorist in Paris and in another incident that year he was convicted of driving while intoxicated after he fell from his motor scooter. He was found to have more than three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.